A Crypto Ban? The Bill Not Yet Final, Looks At Checks And Balances: Report

The discussions come as authorities race to finalize a bill the Centre wants to present to parliament in the session starting November 29.

India is considering a proposal to treat cryptocurrencies as a financial asset while safeguarding small investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The discussions come as authorities race to finalize a bill the Centre wants to present to parliament in the session starting November 29. The legislation may stipulate a minimum amount for investments in digital currencies while banning their use as legal tender, the people said, asking not to be identified as no final decision has been taken.

Policy makers left themselves some wiggle room when they posted a description of the bill on parliament's website late Tuesday, by saying the bill seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies except "certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses."

The uncertainty triggered a sell-off on Wednesday in cryptocurrencies including Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, which were at one point down more than 20% in trading on the WazirX platform, one of India's leading cryptocurrency exchanges. They were far less affected on trading platforms such as Binance or Kraken.